When I'm modeling I stay away from tri's as much as i possibly can. If i happen to make a tri then I'll spend as long as it takes to make it a quad or I just wont continue until i have. Pauldrons don't look that hard to make really but, as stated, a new clone model would be ideal as well. I've been considering making one myself but I'm too much of a perfectionist so I'm still trying to find good orthographic reference images/concept art. I managed to get a few high detailed shots of the helmet from this guy on Youtube (I asked him to take specific pictures of it.) but alas they don't like up properly 100% which is a pain in the ass.